Tag: sweet

Sweet & Sour Turkey

This recipe has been passed down through our family for several generations. It reminds me of the holidays because every day or two after Thanksgiving, my grandfather would make up a huge batch of this with the leftover turkey. I loved it as a kid and would happily devour this morning, noon, and night until the leftovers were gone. I hope you enjoy it too! Be sure to check out my note section below the recipe for additional ideas on how to prepare this recipe. Ingredients and instructions with alternative methods are marked with (*) with the corresponding (*) found in the notes section.

  • Prep time: 10-15 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes – 4/8 hours depending on your cooking method
  • Makes about 6-8 cups 

Ingredients

Ingredients used to make the sauce.
  • 4+ cups of chopped turkey (rotisserie chicken works well as a replacement*)
  • 2 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp cold water
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • ¼ cup ketchup
  • ½ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup chicken broth

Instructions

  1. In a medium sized (3 quart) cooking pot**, begin heating chicken broth on medium high heat and add in vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and ketchup. Stir to dissolve and mix ingredients.
  2. As ingredients start to bubble and steam, add in cornstarch mix*** and stir briskly with a whisk. Continue to stir until ingredients begin to thicken.
  3. Reduce heat to low and allow ingredients to simmer together for about 10 minutes. Make sure to check and stir sauce every few minutes to prevent burning or congealing on the bottom of the pan.
  4. Once sauce is thickened, add in chopped meat and stir to evenly mix ingredients together. Let this mix simmer on low heat for about 15-20 minutes to allow the meat to absorb some of the sauce flavors.
  5. Serve over leftover mashed potatoes, on top of leftover rolls, on buns with coleslaw, or by itself!****

Notes

*As I mentioned, rotisserie chicken can be used as a substitution for turkey. You could also make this recipe in a crock pot and start with raw chicken breasts along with the sauce ingredients. If you choose to do this method, I suggest you cook it on low for 8 hours to allow the chicken breasts to fully cook. After they cook you could shred the chicken right in the sauce and then mix the ingredients together.

I used pre-cooked rotisserie chicken for a quick and easy meal!

**You can also make this recipe in a crockpot. Using this method allows for better flavor absorption by the meat but you want to make sure to cook it on low to keep the meat from over cooking if you are using pre-cooked leftovers. If you choose the crock pot method, just place all your sauce ingredients in and mix well before adding the meat (raw or cooked).

***The cornstarch mix will only slightly thicken up the sauce and it may appear more runny than you expect. You’re welcome to play around with the cornstarch mix ratio but this recipe allows for the sauce to be thin but not watery.

****There are so many ways to enjoy this recipe. Aside from using it for leftovers, it’s great on top of rice or veggies too. The sauce is very versatile so I’d love to hear how you’ve used it. Leave a comment here on the recipe page and let me know what you did with it. Thanks!

Coleslaw is a great addition to this meal. The textures and flavors compliment each other!

Nutrition

  • Serving size: 1 cup of meat and sauce
  • 1 serving is approximately 193 Calories; 1.6g Fat; 0.3g Sat. Fat; 37.5mg Cholest.; 755mg Sodium; 29.9g Carbs; 0.1g Fiber; 26g Sugar; 14.4g Protein.
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No Oil Banana Bread

This is one of my family’s favorite recipes…to eat! It is made with yogurt in place of oil or butter. The end result is a very moist, spongy banana bread. It’s so addicting, especially once you realize there are fewer calories with the yogurt substitute. Muahahaha! Look for the * symbol for notes and options noted at the end of the recipe.

  • Prep time: approx. 15 minutes
  • Cook time: approx. 35-45 min for bread, 15-20 min for large muffins, 12-15 min for mini muffins

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cup sugar*
  • 6 oz (3/4 cup) vanilla yogurt*
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 large medium ripe bananas*
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup buttermilk (optional)*
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 cups mini chocolate chips (optional)*
  • Brown sugar for sprinkling
No Oil Banana Bread Ingredients (without buttermilk)

Instructions:

  1. Before you turn your oven on, remove all but the bottom rack. These need to be cooked on the bottom rack so at least leave enough room to place your pans on the lowest rack in your oven.
  2. Turn your oven on to 350°
  3. Butter or non-stick spray a 13×9 pan or 2 9×9 pans. This recipe can also be made into muffins- see the note below*
  4. Pour the mini chocolate chips into the bottom of your pan(s). Line the bottom evenly so that you cannot see the pan.* This will bake onto the bottom of the bread like a delicious, chocolate crust.
  5. In a stand mixer, mix sugar and yogurt until smooth.
  6. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well in-between.
  7. Add bananas, buttermilk (opt.), and vanilla. Mix well.
  8. Mix in flour one cup at a time, mixing well in-between.
  9. Add salt and baking soda. Mix until smooth.
  10. Carefully pour batter in to pan(s) while not disturbing the chocolate chips. Make sure to divide the batter evenly between the pans if you are using more than one.
  11. Sprinkle desired amount of brown sugar over the top of the batter-filled pan(s).
  12. Cook for between 35-45 minutes depending on your oven. It is best to check doneness with a toothpick at about 30 minutes and every 5 minutes after that until the toothpick comes out clean.

Notes:

*I usually use cane sugar rather than white sugar but both should work the same.

*I use a small container of vanilla bean yogurt but I have also tried using the same amount of plain greek yogurt as a substitute and it worked just as well but required an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract for flavor (2 tsp vanilla total).

*You want bananas that are very ripe but I have used bananas of varying ripeness. The difference is- the riper they are the sweeter and more banana-y the bread tastes.

*The buttermilk is labeled as optional because sometimes I put it in my recipe and sometimes I leave it out. The recipe seems to cook similarly either way but cooking it with the buttermilk adds even more moisture. Without the buttermilk it seems to be plenty moist and you wouldn’t notice it wasn’t in there.

*Chocolate chips are an optional ingredient and 2 cups is an approximate measurement because you can really add as much or as little as you’d like. You can also mix the chips into the batter rather than lining the pan with them. It’s all a matter of opinion.

*MUFFINS- spray and line 1-12 cup or 1-24 mini cup muffin pan(s) as you would large pans. Cook for about 15-20 minutes checking the doneness the same as you would in pans, adding 5 minutes at a time until the toothpick comes out clean.

Nutrition:

  • Servings as bread: 32, servings as mini muffins: 24, servings as regular muffins: 12
  • Based on 24 serving mini muffins baked with optional buttermilk: 1 serving is approximately 141 Calories; 2.1g Fat; 1.1g Sat. Fat; 20.6mg Cholest.; 152mg Sodium; 28.7g Carbs; 0.4g Fiber; 17.4g Sugar; 2.6g Protein.
Finished product!